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Bows Down, Shotguns Up for Hunters

Vineyard archery season, now in its waning days, has brought out large numbers of hunters, who in turn have harvested at least 100 deer. Archery hunting season began on Oct. 15 and continues through Saturday, Nov. 24.

The end of archery hunting season for deer will be followed by shotgun season, which runs from Nov. 26 to Dec. 8, and black powder season, which runs from Dec. 10 through the last day of the year.

Steve Purcell, who is manning a deer check-in station for the state at his Edgartown store, Larry’s Tackle Shop, said he had counted at least 90 harvested deer as of Thursday. An additional 10 deer were counted at the check-in station at the Wampanoag tribal headquarters in Aquinnah.

Hunting is permitted a half hour before sunrise to a half hour after sunset. No hunting is allowed on Sundays.

John Varkonda, superintendent of the Manuel F. Correllus State Forest, said the forest remains open for public walking and use during hunting season. He encourages those who venture into the forest to dress appropriately and wear bright colors, preferably bright hunter’s orange.

Not many hunters use the state forest during archery season, he said, but that will likely change with the arrival of shotgun season.

This hunting season appears to be a productive one so far, Mr. Purcell said, noting that all of the deer he checked in were in good health at the time they were harvested.

An abundance of acorns compared with other years underscores the amount of food available to these animals, he said. “I’ve seen a lot of bucks,” said Mr. Purcell. Some of them have weighed just under 200 pounds.

According to state records, in 2011 Vineyard hunters took 792 deer: 214 during archery season, 454 during shotgun and 124 during black powder season.